I was on the mrt a few days ago when I overheard a teenage Malay girl (a.k.a minah) telling her friend (who was also a minah) that "Kat Singapore ni, cuma ader Taufik sorang ajer.." I wasn't paying heed to their conversation initially but my ears pricked up instantly when the name of Singapore's first (and only?) Idol was mentioned. Nonetheless, I couldn't hear very much by then thanks to the din of the train as it went through its subterranean route. Probably, they were referring to the dearth of eligible Malay bachelors here, or the apparent lack of successful & popular local Malay singers...
Whateverlah.. Coincidentally, on that very evening, I had my first glimpse of the videoclip of the new National Day Theme song, aptly named, "Reach For The Skies" and sung by Taufik Batisah and Rui En (of Achar! fame). Composed by Elaine Chan, lyrics by Selena Tan, and produced, unsurprisingly, by Ken Lim, this has got to be the corniest and cheesiest NDP theme song ever.
Run-of-the-mill and trite lyrics aside, I must applaud the masterstroke of genius to have Taufik sing this year's song; because of this, indubitably, legions of little boys and girls will be memorising the song in no time! Moreover, as shown on the videoclip, there are even some nifty dance moves which one can dance along to when singing the chorus... Very chic~! Except that Rui En's bare arms looked so frightfully skinny and stick-like, I could have mistaken the clip for a Xando slimming advertisement. However, I'm sure her anorexic good looks will be all the rage amongst "happening" tween girls.
Seriously, I miss those years when NDP songs were patriotic and memorable, with distinctive melodies that set them apart from one another. With the exception of Kit Chan's Home, I can barely recall the NDP songs of recent years. Although the latter were up-tempo and undeniably contemporary, they lacked a certain something which could have made them more engaging and heartfelt. Oh well~ maybe I'm just getting old lah... (And you know how old people have a tendency to get nostalgic & sentimental, rite? :p )
